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Footfall thoughts

Retailers and retail landlords who watched Save our Shops on the BBC Money Programme last month would have seen at first hand the impact of vanishing footfall on the high street. When people say retail success boils down to "location, location, location", what they mean is that without shoppers you cannot make money. All retail is about getting someone to spend money with you and to buy stuff from you at a price greater than your cost in buying it and putting it on display. The interesting twist in the SOS programme was its demonstration of the death of high streets around the UK. Local retailers and landlords need to work hard to ensure that people want to visit their shops and properties. In big retail parks, video surveillance is used to monitor where people go and what they do. In many high streets, local retailers fail to even look outside and count how many shoppers are passing by. For high streets, the programme shows, collaboration may be the only answer to create the excitement and interest to win back shoppers. Too many retailers may be taking today's shoppers for granted. Don't!

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